A MOTHER-OF-FOUR has been left devastated after the ashes of both her father and step-father were stolen in a burglary.

Joanne Morris, 30, from Burnley, said she was heartbroken after returning home from a trip away to find her house had been ransacked and the urns missing along with thousands of pounds worth of belongings.

As well as ornaments, televisions, tablet computers, laptops and games consoles being taken, Miss Morris’s cupboards had been ransacked, her fridge and freezer almost emptied of food and her walls stripped of pictures and a mirror.

Even her four-month-old baby’s blankets had gone.

Miss Morris said: “I do not care about the material items, they can keep them.

“It is just that I need my dad and step-dad back more than anything.”

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The burglary happened sometime between 7pm on January 2 and 9.45pm the following day at Miss Morris’s house, in Branch Road.

Miss Morris said her sister-in-law had gone round to check on the property and feed the fish while she had been away visiting her mother Cath Hamilton in Liverpool.

But when she arrived she realised the door had been broken down and the house was almost empty.

Miss Morris said: “She got my brother to ring me because she could not bring herself to do it.

“They just gutted my house. I bought the kids some sweet trees for Christmas and even they went “They emptied my fridge and my freezer. All they have left me with is frozen peas and tinned peas.

“The ashes urns were in cardboard boxes in the electric cupboard, so they must have gone looking.

“They were still in the boxes because we did not have the heart to do anything with them yet.”

Miss Morris lost her father, John Hamilton, who was a lecturer at Nelson and Colne College for more than 20 years, in 2009 and her step-father Frederick Blackburn in 2010.

In total, more than £2,000 of personal items were taken Donations of food, clothes and furniture have been given to Miss Morris after a friend of her mum Ann Metcalfe appealed for help on Facebook.

The victim added: “We are very grateful and we appreciate every little thing.

“At the moment, I have not even had the chance to look through it all because I am still trying to clean up the mess left by the burglars.

“The support has been amazing and so has the amount of help we have had.

“It is so lovely how the community has come together. The victim support staff from the police have been great as well.”

A police investigation has been set up and officers are appealing for anybody who might have information about the burglary to come forward so that they can help reunite Miss Morris with the urns.

PC Ash Patel said: “This burglary has understandably caused the homeowner a great deal of stress and anxiety made all the more worse that the ashes of her loved ones have also been taken.

“We are keen to trace those responsible and would urge anyone who has information that could assist with finding the perpetrators and recovering the property, especially the urns.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log reference 1186 of January 3.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org